Pages

Thursday, May 30, 2013

This past weekend, my daughter, Kristen and I made the long trip
up to Kentucky to visit my son, Dave and his wife, Leslie. Being Memorial Day
weekend, Kristen had an extra day off from school so it made the trip worth the
eight hours to get there.

Saturday morning, we three girls went out on the deck to
enjoy the sunshine and the nice breeze. This is the kind of weather I like to
sunbath in because you do not feel the heat so badly until later in the afternoon.
I was content with the calmness as I relaxed and soaked up some rays.

We were laughing and joking about this and that, when
something out of the blue happened. Suddenly, I felt a plop of bird poop hit my
left arm. It was not to the left or right but slap dab in the middle near my
watch. At first, I could not believe the bird, which I never saw, could have had
such perfect aim. Then, I wanted to tell that bird a thing or two. Finally, I
merely went inside and washed it off. When I came back out, the incident became
the joke and our laugh for the day.

Later, I asked the Lord if there was something he wanted me
to see since the bird’s aim was so sharp. That is when I hear Him speak to my
heart.

“Don’t allow sudden
negative actions of others steal your joy.”

This has been a difficult lesson to learn. Suddenly, a phone
call or friend would come by and upset my day with their attitudes or actions. I
would mull over the situation again and again. At first, I wanted to lash back
or cultivate self-piety but I knew neither one of those answers was a positive
solution. After I started praying, God began inserting this phrase into my
thinking.

“Are you going to let
them steal your joy?”

When the Holy Spirit said it the first time, it surprised me.
I wasn’t sure how to respond. I felt justified in my feelings of
anger and piety. However, the more I thought about what God was trying to teach
me, I knew I had to learn to clear my thoughts of “them” and turn my attention
to something more joyful like my plans for the rest of the day, events coming
up or maybe even make plans to visit a friend. Cultivating the joyful thoughts
in that moment would be the strength I needed to overcome. Once I changed my
thinking, my attitudes and actions followed too.

What do you do when your life is suddenly pooped on? Has God
ever tried to get you to wash your mind clean and move on to more pleasant
pastures? Next time you get plastered, do not let the negative situation get
you down. Begin to cultivate joy and watch your strength arise with overcoming
power.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Here I am in my
appointed place. I am a lamp that
shines forth the love of Christ to everyone who comes near to my glow. I hold up this shade of
protection so that I will not blind
anyone with my message of truth. I am so proud of what I have
been able to achieve. It seems I get
better at proclaiming truth all the time. Look at all the people I have helped. I love how public I have
become.

Oh! Here comes Jesus. I know he will be so pleased with what
I have done. I just know He will bless me real good.

Oh! He is looking my way and pointing His finger at me. Here
comes my reward. Yessssss!

Pride precedes destruction;

an arrogant spirit appears before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

POP!

What! My light just exploded. That is not the blessing of was expecting.

“Pride in your own self-sufficiency comes before the fall,”
Jesus said as He came to stand before me. “Humble yourself before me and I will
show you how to begin again.”

OH NO! My thinking is heading me in the wrong direction.
Shining for Him is not about what I can do, but what He is doing through me. I
have been taking credit for the light He has so carefully developed within me.
Oh Jesus! Please forgive me! Allow me to humble myself before you.

Jesus gently unscrewed the broken bulb and replaced it with
a brand new beginning.

“Now you are ready to shine again,” He said.

Ok!

Here I am in my Christ-appointed
place. I am a lamp that shines forth the love of Christ to everyone who comes
near to His Glory. I hold up this
shade of protection so that His Glory will
not blind anyone from His message of
Truth. I am so humbled by what He has been able to achieve through our
partnership. It seems we are getting
better at proclaiming His truth all
the time. Look at all the people He
has touched. I love being His
humbled mouthpiece of love.

Ahaaaaaaaa….I feel much brighter now.

Sometimes in all our busy-ness to get things done for
Christ, we slide our names in first underneath the credits. Often times, it was
not our intention to steal the glory from God. Pride can come in so gently that
we do not detect its presences until attitudes have gotten lopsided.

Have you crossed the line into God’s territory? Take this
time this week to reflect and evaluate your pride level. Thank God for what He
is doing in your life. Humble yourself before God in the unbalanced areas.
Afterwards, I am sure your will begin to feel lighter and brighter too.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

In August of last year, I asked the Lord where He wanted me
to go in my Bible Study time. He lead me the Community Bible Study in my area.
This is an international group whose mission is to make disciples of the Lord
Jesus Christ in our community through in-depth Bible study for all. They do not
try to persuade anyone to believe a certain way but encourage everyone to pray
and seek the Holy Spirit as each lesson is done.

When I went to the first class, I found out we were studying
Revelations. I thought, Oh My! I’m not
sure I want to study that book with all of the difficult imagery and the
destruction of the world. Then,I thought it best to trust God’s leading.

At each meeting, we met in small core groups to discuss any
insights we may have gotten when answering the questions in the workbook. Then
there was a corporate meeting where there was teaching on how the scriptures
from that day’s study applied to us today. I gain some wonderful insights as
well as a sober mindset on future events.

Thoughts to Ponder

This is our Heavenly Father’s world and He is in complete
control of all events. God is a God of love and mercy but He also requires that
justice be served for the life each one of us has lived. If we have not
accepted Jesus’s blood sacrifice for our sins, then we will have paid the
penalty of rejecting Him ourselves.

Am I witnessing to others while there is still time?

There will be a collapse of life, as we know it today. The
tribulation will be a time of intense testing and prosecution as never before for
those who remain on the earth. We do not like to think about God allowing these
catastrophic events. However, each step is necessary for the last of the decisions
for Christ to be made and for God’s kingdom to come on the earth. Christians
may go through some strong prosecution before the Rapture, but I believe we
will be spared the brunt of the trials and testing.

Am I really ready for Christ’s return by following His
directives or am I allowing worldly wisdom to influence most of my decisions?

The ending of Revelations is the greatest of all. Evil
is banished forever, we are rewarded for what we have done in our lives, and
best of all, we get to go and spend eternity with Him. What a blessed hope we
have to ponder, as we face our present circumstances. There will come a time
when God will say enough, call us home, and close the end of this age.

Have you thought about how amazing heaven is going to be
lately? Are you looking forward to Jesus Christ return? Are you learning how to
live in His Presence to overcome whatever lies ahead? I pray we all come to
more of the knowledge of the Truth as we walk on towards eternity.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

I got the round robin call. Everyone
who was able to come needed to meet at the food pantry location at noon. A
large load of sweet potatoes had arrived and needed to be packaged. When I
pulled in the parking lot, there was the same familiar guy holding a sign
saying FREE FOOD. Going inside, I noticed there were already several people
bagging sweet potatoes as fast as they could from large cardboard containers. I
started to work right away.

As I filled one bag after another, I
began to pray for those who would be receiving the food. I prayed the
recipients would be nourished and satisfied. I also prayed they would be
spiritually nurtured as well. I asked the Holy Spirit to go with the sweet
potatoes and encourage the receivers that God loved them in these trouble
times. If they didn’t know God, I prayed they would come to know the saving
power of Christ. God can do the impossible. As I finished my prayer, I felt the
sweet potatoes would not only be delicious when cooked but they would also
bring a spiritual blessing tailored just for that individual family.

After a couple of hours, My hands were
black and my back was aching, but I knew I had made a difference in the lives of
those who stopped by our doorway.

Why do I like to volunteer my time in
this way?

It gives me the chance to prayer and give
back to those around me. I have received much from God and those He has placed
in my life. Yes, I have had my hard years too but God had always brought me
through. Now I want to share with others. I may not be able to “save the world”
but I can strengthen the ones who come by for the packaged food.

It’s good for me to think of someone
else besides my self. It helps to relieve built up stress and thus keeps me
healthier.

Lastly, Jesus commands me to feed and
minister to the poor, the widows, and the orphans.

Deuteronomy 15:11 “There will always be poor people in the land.
Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the
poor and needy in your land.” (NIV)

John 13:34 "A new command I give
you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (NIV)

If I had no other reason than Jesus’s command and
encouragement, then that is enough to get involved. The bonus is that when I
help meet the needs of the less fortunate then God will satisfy my needs as
well.

Proverbs 19:17Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. (NIV)

What are you doing in your community to make a difference?
What talents can you share with others who need them? God has a tailored place
for you to help. Ask Him and He will show you the way.

About Me

Mary Jane Downs is an author, speaker and teacher who lives in the foothills of the Asheville Mountains. She loves long walks with her camera in hand, reading, hand quilting, and cooking for friends. Mary Jane has been published in Awe Magazine, Inspiredmoms.com, as well as a guest blogger. Mary Jane has found her writing and love of quilting to work well together. Quilting gives her time to think and gain insight for story ideas and writing helps her to express those ideas and thoughts to others.